A conventional beverage can or beverage bottle has historically been constructed from glass or a metal such as aluminium. In years past, the end use of such beverage containers by a person consuming a beverage presented various problems. For example, the body heat of a hand holding a beverage container would transmit through the glass or metal of the beverage container, thus undesirably altering the temperature of the beverage (e.g., often by accelerating the warming of a previously chilled beverage). Moreover, if a beverage can was chilled in an ice chest, for example, then the metal of the can (or glass in the case of a bottle) could reach temperatures which were so low or cold so as to be uncomfortable to the touch of a human hand.
In order to address these problems related to the use of beverage containers, various inventions have heretofore been used to insulate beverage containers to not only maintain the desired temperature of a beverage but also to provide comfort to the person carrying or consuming the beverage. One example of such an invention is a polystyrene cylinder or sleeve—popularized in the 1980's—for carrying and simultaneously insulting a beer or soda can. Subsequent to the development of polystyrene beverage container insulators, different materials, such as neoprene or ethylene vinyl acetate (“EVA”) foam, have been experimented with and have since become popular for use as such insulators. Regardless of construction, such beverage container insulators are today often referred to as beer jackets or sleeves, beer huggers or huggies, cozies, coosies, or koozies.
While the beverage container insulators which have been previously known in the art perform basic insulation functions reasonably well, known container insulators suffer various drawbacks. For example, there remains a need in the art for a container insulator which is reconfigurable to fit or conform to both bottles and cans. Moreover, there is a need in the art for a reconfigurable container insulator which also provides carrying handles or straps in both bottle and can carrying configurations.
In view of these and other desires for improvements in the art, it is a purpose of the herein described invention to address one or more of such desires as well as, or in the alternative, other needs which will become more apparent to the skilled artisan once given the present disclosure.